Feel Like A Monster (CM)
Mistress 9 sighed. This circus really was a boring place. Nobody interested her and there was nothing to do. She couldn’t find that little fairy anywhere. Hotaru was still out cold inside her head, so there was nobody around for her to bully.
"Why Hotaru came to this place, I’ll never know," she said, kicking over a trash can with her foot.
Unbeknownst to her, somebody was nearby. A little somebody, to be in fact. Aisling heard the trashcan falling over and decided to investigate. Maybe there was raccoon running around the circus grounds. If that was the case, she needed to get it back to the forest before somebody hurt it. But as she came out from behind a tent, she suddenly saw Mistress 9, and she froze. She was out? Mistress 9 was out on the prowl? This was bad. She had to get out of here now. But she was too slow. Mistress 9 saw her, and her mouth curved into a wicked grin.
"Ah, there’s my little fairy. I think it’s high time I consumed your energy, don’t you agree?"
Aisling didn’t answer. She couldn’t. She was too afraid. All she could do was turn on her heel and take off running, hoping she could get away from the demon before it was too late.
"Oh no, you don’t!" Mistress 9 yelled. She shot out her hand, releasing a purple bolt of energy. It hit Aisling right in the back. She cried out as she fell to the ground. It gave Mistress 9 plenty of time to walk over to her. Aisling looked up to see her looming over her, a smile still on her face.
"Please…don’t," Aisling pleaded, scooting away from her.
"Oh, it’s too late for pleading, little fairy," Mistress 9 said coldly. In a flash, her hand was around Aisling’s throat, lifting her off the ground as if she were a toy. Aisling struggled to breathe, her feet kicking helplessly.
"Ah yes, how long I’ve waited for this day," Mistress 9 gloated, her free hand started to course with dark power. "Your energy will be mine, Aisling. And I will get a body of my own. Then I will make sure to destroy this pitiful circus before I lay waste to everything else in my path."
Aisling could only gasp for breath as her heart pounded in fear. Mistress 9 just laughed at seeing the little fairy struggle. But right when it seemed like Aisling was done for, somebody came to her rescue.
Tulio happened to walk in on the scene, and it only took him a second to register that Aisling was in trouble, and the dark-haired woman was a threat to her. The book in his hands dropped to the ground as he started to run over. ”Let her go!” she yelled.
Mistress 9 turned to him, her eyes flashing with anger. ”Don’t interfere human!” She shot out her free hand, blasting Tulio back with a bolt of energy.
"Tulio…your book," Aisling choked out as she struggled to break free of Mistress 9’s grasp.
Tulio instantly realized what Aisling meant. He scrambled backwards, grabbing the book quickly. It took Mistress 9 a little longer. And her eyes widened.
"No. He can’t have the same magic-"
Whatever else she was going to stay was cut off as Tulio opened his book, and the healing magic inside its pages burst forth. Mistress 9 screamed as a bright light shone, blinding Tulio for a moment. When the light died down, he saw Aisling on the ground, coughing. And where Mistress 9 stood, there was only an unconscious girl.
"Aisling!" Tulio rushed to the fairy’s side, scooping her up into his arms. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
Aisling shook her head. ”No, I’m…I’m okay.” She looked back at Hotaru. ”Mistress 9 is still there. Your magic was only strong enough to make her retreat back into that girl’s mind.”
"Who is she?" Tulio asked. "Why was she trying to kill you?"
"She’s a demon," Aisling replied. "My kind fought with her demon clan centuries ago. We won, but we lost a lot of lives on our side. That was why we allied ourselves with the Slanaitheoirs in the first place: so we could have someone to depend on while we rebuilt our race. I thought we had killed all the demons, but…I guess Mistress 9 survived. And now she’s using this girl as a host until she can consume my energy and…get her own body. She tried to come out a few months before, but she wasn’t able to. I thought that maybe…she would leave me alone…"
Tulio felt Aisling shiver in his arms. His eyes got a determined glare in them. ”She won’t touch you, Aisling. I won’t let her.”
Suddenly, there was a small groan. Tulio and Aisling looked down to see Hotaru stir before her eyes opened. She saw Aisling’s eyes filled with fear, and Tulio arms protectively around her. It only took her a moment to realize what had happened.
"Oh God…she didn’t hurt you, did she?" she asked, looking at Aisling. "Mistress 9…she didn’t…"
"No, no, I’m alright," Aisling replied. "Tulio saved me. He knows the magic of my kin. It was enough to make her go away."
Hotaru just nodded before she slowly stood up, her knees shaking a little.
"So…what do we do now?" Tulio asked, looking back and forth between Aisling and Hotaru. "I mean, we obviously have to stop Mistress 9. It’s only a matter of time before she comes out again and tries to kill Aisling…"
"No," Hotaru replied, looking at Tulio. "She can’t be stopped. She’s too powerful. You saw her. I’ve already tried everything I can think of: potions, exorcisms, but she’s just too strong."
"Then what else can we do?" Aisling asked.
Hotaru let out a slow breath, coming to a decision. ”I need to leave the circus. I need to get far away from you, so Mistress 9 can’t reach you.” She sighed. I was such a fool to come here, she thought. How could I have thought I would possibly make friends when somebody like Mistress 9 is around? She’ll just hurt everyone I love, or make them afraid of me.
"No, you can’t…just leave," Aisling said. "I don’t want to be the reason why you have to leave this place."
"I’m sorry," Hotaru said. "It’s the only way to protect you, and make sure that Mistress 9 doesn’t get her own body." She could feel tears coming to her eyes at the thought of leaving her friends behind, leaving Jing behind. But she just couldn’t stay, not when she was such a danger to everyone here. "This is the last you’ll see of me. Once I’m gone, you won’t be in any danger. Good-bye." And with that, Hotaru ran off.
"Hey, wait a second!" Tulio called. But it was too late. Hotaru was already gone.
Aisling frowned. She wasn’t going to let Mistress 9 ruin this girl’s life. She didn’t want to be the reason she couldn’t stay here. ”We need to find Facilier,” she said as she hopped out of Tulio’s arms. ”If anyone can come up with a solution to this, it’ll be him.”
Tulio nodded. ”Right. Let’s go.” The two hurried off in the direction of Facilier’s caravan.
All of Hotaru’s belongings could fit into one bag. She had never been the type of person to have many belongings. She almost thought about leaving her engagement ring behind, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted some kind of memento of Jing, even if she could never see him again. The only thing she left behind was a note.
“I’m sorry, but it’s just too dangerous for me to stay. I might hurt any of you, and if I did, I would never be able to forgive myself. I’m sorry if I’ve made anyone sad by doing this, but it’s the only way. Jing, I’ll always love you, but I just can’t risk you getting hurt. Pheno, take care of Tess for me, will you? She knows you. I’m so sorry.”